WHAT DO YOU WANT?

March 25, 2013

By

LAURA CARPENTER

Newport City is ready for change and a number of surveys are making the rounds to find out what residents really want downtown and in the area. Photo: Laura Carpenter

NEWPORT â€“ A consumer survey is circulating in Orleans County to find out what draws people to Newport, what shoppers would like to see, and shopping habits. The results will help local businesses evolve, if they choose, to meet demands, and to entice new businesses based on what residents and visitors want.
A similar survey was conducted in 2008, but it is helpful to conduct surveys every few years, explained Bill McMaster, community resource development specialist with UVM (University of Vermont).
Other groups are also doing their own surveys, including NEK99%.
The extensive four page survey was put together by a committee consisting of the UVM Extension Service, Northeast Kingdom Travel and Tourism Association, North Country Chamber of Commerce, a private developer, a real estate company, Newport City Renaissance Corporation, and Lyndon State College Center for Rural Entrepreneurship.

For more of this story, see Tuesday's edition of The Newport Daily Express for March 26, 2013.